January first
by fanaticalParadox
Summary: While most girls her age judged boys on their looks and personality, she judged them on their expiration date. Nice. Elena Gilbert can see the exact date of a person's death- what happens when she falls in love with someone who's death is in a year? AH/AU
1. Chapter 1

Prologue- January First: A Delena fanfic

Summary: While most girls her age judged boys on their looks and personality, she judged them on their expiration date. Nice. Elena Gilbert can see the exact date and time of a person's death- what happens when she falls in love with someone who's death is much sooner than later?

Ships included: Delena (duh), Klaroline and more!

Rating: M (just because I'm not sure how intense it'll get ;)

I totally own the vampire diaries guys what are you talking about. (Jkjk)

Prologue:

Elena Gilbert never liked being nosy, she actually hated it. She didn't like being curious, and yet she was the most curious girl in Mystic Falls. She had this way of looking at people- some thought it creepy, while others stared back at her with similar intensity, trying to figure out how she found such interest in a stranger. Of course, no one knew her actual reason for practically ripping someone open with a single gaze. She was looking at their numbers.

Everyone except her had one, there was always a number. Mostly they were really big- in the thousands. But the ones that were smaller were the ones she was drawn to.

Until recently, she hadn't known what they meant, she would glance at her mom and see the number flash in her mind. Every day, the number would get smaller. 92, 91, 90. She had anticipated that day- when the countdown reached zero, to find out what would happen. She had her suspicions but she would push them away. The moment the car had skidded and drove straight off Wickery Bridge- Elena knew.

The numbers. Days left alive. Days until you expire.

Now when she saw the numbers, she'd feel nauseous and look away. She could see when someone would die- when they'd leave. The thought made her sick to her stomach. She'd cry when she got home.

She never got close to people anymore- she couldn't look at someone without feeling heavy and guilty. Of course she had her group of friends- whose numbers were pleasantly high, and her family- who's life expectancy was much higher than her mother's.

Her dream of being a doctor faded- seeing low numbers in a place where hope was needed to keep your sanity intact wasn't the best job idea. Her father would question her on her reasons for this retraction of her lifelong obsession but coined it in on the "she lost her mother and isn't thinking straight" excuse, though it was much more. Her father didn't know, no one did. She never told anyone and never planned on it. She'd never get attached, not to a person anyway. She'd never fall in love.

While most girls her age judged boys on their looks and personality, she judged them on their expiration date. Nice.

 **AN: ok that was the prologue so it was short. I promise really long chapters to come. Honestly.**

 **I got the idea for this from the book NUMBERS. Though I won't be using anything other than the concept in it. Woo. Please review- I love hearing what people think about my stories. Sadly I discontinued my Homestuck fic- so sorry if you were into that- it kinda died on me. Though I hopefully won't do it to this fic. I'll thank everyone in advance for reading this since I'm feeling it'll be a long road for this fic.**

 **If you have any suggestions or** constructive criticism then feel free to review and/or PM **me.**

 **Thanks again for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One- January First: A Delena fanfic

Summary: While most girls her age judged boys on their looks and personality, she judged them on their expiration date. Nice. Elena Gilbert can see the exact date of a person's death- what happens when she falls in love with someone who's death is in a year? AH/AU

Ships included: Delena (duh), Klaroline and more!

Rating: M (just because I'm not sure how intense it'll get ;)

I totally own the vampire diaries guys what are you talking about. (Jkjk)

Chapter one:

January-1-16

The countdown had ended- and all thoughts of death were cleared from Elena's mind. Alcohol really helped lower her empathy. The 'numbers' were blurry- and for all she knew, 100 could be 100000 and wouldn't that be a waste of a potential friendship. She let out a triumphant scream when the countdown hit zero- joining in everyone else's laughter in the buzzed atmosphere of the grill. She looked at Matt- ex boyfriend, best friend and bartender. She winked and motioned for another of whatever she had been drinking.

"Sorry 'Lena, I'm cutting you off." He said with a serious voice and a sympathetic smile- those pretty blue eyes gazing into her Bambi ones.

"Pleeaasse Matty?!" She pleaded . She heard a chuckle from her friend but ended up getting a non alcoholic vodka- which is an oxymoron. She turned her nose up to it but downed it anyways.

Her mind was all over the place- and she couldn't look at one person or thing for too long without feeling dizzy. She rolled her eyes at Matt, who honestly was the best person to deal with her at this moment. His death date was far away- he'd probably grow old and die after a long life of satisfaction. Something she wished that everyone could have.

Caroline Forbes, however, was not the most amazing person to be around at this time. Her boyfriend Tyler had recently broken up with her, and she was an excitable drunk. She skip-stumbled over to Elena, who was currently mumbling about how Matt was no fun.

"EEELLLEENA GILBERT!" She practically screamed, her volume range dumbfounding to the brunette. Caroline's date of death wasn't as far as Matt, but she'd live well into her 50's- which meant that Elena didn't have to worry about it for another 30 or so years. Elena noticed a guy trailing behind her bubbly friend. He was tall, maybe around 6 feet, and had dusty colored hair that was spiked backwards along his head. His eyes were an emerald green that you could read like an open book. Honestly he was pretty cute and seemed nice as he smiled timidly and held out his hand.

"Stefan Salvatore. Your friend Caroline here had your name written in sharpie on her arm, and to come find you if she got too drunk. Well I asked around and found you here..."

She shook that hand and looked at his number. He die in 20 ish years. Good enough for her.

"Elena Gilbert." She giggled a bit "though you probably already knew that." She motioned towards Caroline's arm, which was stealthily reaching for a bottle of bourbon but then slapped away by Matt, who would pretend not to notice until Caroline's fingers were just barely grabbing ahold of the bottle. Stefan laughed and smiled wholeheartedly at Elena "I just moved here with my brother from New York, we're staying here with our uncle Zach for awhile."

"Are you going to Mystic Falls high? I'm assuming that you're that young... Sorry if I'm wrong." She replies, almost giddily. He nods with similar excitement "yeah, I'll be a junior and my brother will- unfortunately for him, be a senior."

She felt disappointed that Stefan wasn't a senior as well but was intrigued by this 'brother' Stefan was speaking of. "What do you mean by 'unfortunately for him'?"

Stefan shrugged "he's not a big fan of school. Especially in a small town like this- unlike me he's a city person." Elena scoffed. She could relate to the hate of being confined to a small town but rolled her eyes at his dislike of school. No one liked school, but she already couldn't stand him if he was one of those a self proclaimed "rebels" that would skip class and make snarky comments if they ever did show up. She saw Stefan chuckle at her thoughts, as if he knew what she was thinking. "I love him, he's the best brother I could have, but I admit that he can be a real dick sometimes." She laughed in reply before he continued in a quieter voice"...though he is really smart." His smile was replaced with a furrowed brow and shifty eyes. Elena was sure that there was a story there.

They were interrupted by the chiming of Elena's phone, it was her father. "Sorry, I have to take this, don't leave though!" She pressed answer and exhaled as she held the phone up to her ear, her dad was easy going- but he wouldn't tolerate her being lightly buzzed, let alone almost drunk off her ass. "Hey dad!" She tried keeping her voice normal and not slurry- it seemed to work.

"Hey 'Lena! How is the party?"

"Great dad! Are you picking me and Care up soon? It's ok if you aren't done with your date yet..."

Her dad had gotten into dating again- after her and her siblings assured him that it had been enough time for his mourning Miranda's death and that he could enjoy himself. He had met a wonderful woman, Andie, that he had been on a few dates with. Tonight was one of those dates.

"That's what I was calling about... I was wondering if a friend could give you two a ride home. I decided to stay the night at Andie's..."

Elena practically jumped in excitement

"Oh my god dad that's great! I'll see what I can do, and I'll walk home if I can't find one! I better not keep you occupied..."

She stopped and giggled a bit as he hung up, not before adding a "if you need anything, call me. No matter what. You'll call me right?"

She rolled her eyes and smirked at her father's shyness about the situation and turned back to Stefan, who was conversing with Matt about something. She skipped up behind him and poked his face. "Stefan?" He jumped up, startled, but calmed- seeing who it was.

"Hey! You said you'd be back- guess you weren't ditching me."

She giggled and playfully hit his shoulder "Stop it! Sooner or later you'll be trying to get rid of me." She paused before asking "I was wondering if Caroline and I could hitch a ride..."

"Yeah, I'm actually only here to stay sober and drive my bro home- since he'll be drunk as hell." He sighed, both agreeing to Elena's request but shaking his head at his reason for attendance. She grew more and more weary of this shady brother character Stefan kept mentioning. "Speaking of which, I should get him before he passes out- wait here for me ok?"

She nodded violently and turned to Caroline, who was spinning around on one of the bar stools like it was a carnival ride. "Hey Care!" The blonde turned to her happily "eyy Lele!" Her friend couldn't even pronounce Elena's name. Her tolerance really was low...

"Stefan is giving us a ride home- that is ok right?"

Her only response was a bubbly drunken giggle.

"Okay then."

Elena turned back to Stefan- who was already leaving to find his brother. Of course the minute that the dusty haired, green eyed 16 year old sauntered off, he was replaced by another. This new character radiated danger and passion- his aura was dark. When he spoke, his words were like velvet rolling out of his mouth.

"Bourbon. Neat."

Matt complied, grabbing the bottle of bourbon from in front of Caroline and pouring the velvet voiced stranger a glass. The man turns to me and I almost gasp. He was fucking gorgeous. He had raven feathers for hair and two pools of ice for eyes, his skin was pale and smooth. His eyes were full of every imaginable emotion but at the same time cold and void of feeling- his very presence intimidated her. His mouth was turned in a playful smirk.

"You like what you see? There's more where this came from..."

She's broken out of her trance and noticed his number. 3650 days. Ten years.

"What! N-NO! I was just lost in thought..."

"About me I presume."

It wasn't even phrased as a question. He just assumed that it was true- though it was, and it pissed her off. A lot.

"Don't assume you know something if you don't..." She mumbled, her lightly drunk mind had a death wish since it always stated what she was thinking.

He chuckled and swallowed his drink in one go.

"But I am right."

She suddenly wished that his 3650 could lose a zero. This cocky attitude and confidence oozing smirk were getting on her nerves.

Rolling her eyes she turns away from the stranger's amused gaze.

"Fuck you"

He seems to find her anger hilarious and tips his head back laughing. "Sorry. I should introduce myself before accusing you of hiding your obvious attraction to me."

I motion for him to proceed.

"But then again... You should introduce yourself to someone before cursing them for being right..."

Elena fumed.

"Ok. My name is Elena Gilbert- I'm 17, so yes I'm a minor drinking shut up, and have an uncanny ability to meet the biggest douchebags which at this moment, is you."

He motioned for Matt to pour another drink before responding. "Well my name is Damon Salvatore, I am also 17 so big surprise there seeing as my tolerance is insanely high. And I have an affinity for meeting the most fiery and beautiful of women, which at this moment, is you."

She practically melted before shaking her head wildly "Wait did you say Salvatore? As in Stef-" he cut her off "So you've met Saint Stefan already? Well now I know that I can't have you..."

His words sounded like a joke and he was smiling as he said them but his shoulders sagged a bit and his eyes dulled as they turned to his drink.

"No! I'm not interested in him like that anyway!" She realized the realized that she defended her single status a little too quickly. "No he was going to give me and my friend Caroline a ride home since he was sober and went off looking for you..."

He nodded and took another swig.

"Well then E-le-na" he said in a drawl, "I guess the introductions were necessary. See you around." He got up from his stool and stumbled away shouting "just tell Stefan... That you saw me and I said that it happened again and I'm done with his shit. Also that I'll walk home. I hate cars sometimes."

She was confused but nodded and proceeded to wait for Stefan.

The rest of the night was a blur, and she only remembered getting home and falling asleep immediately on her bed, thoughts of Damon Salvatore on her mind.

A/N: **ok so that's chapter one. Tell me what you think! Reviews please! Also the numbers were less of a plot here as she was lightly buzzed and so they weren't on her thoughts. Next chapter has a plot twist- so that's nice. Anyhow I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Also Damon is really hard to write for so tell me if he's getting OOC- other than the necessary ooc-ness he requires for the AU.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter two- January 1st

Summary: While most girls her age judged boys on their looks and personality, she judged them on their expiration date. Nice. Elena Gilbert can see the exact date of a person's death- what happens when she falls in love with someone who's death is in a year? AH/AU

Ships included: Delena (duh), Klaroline and more!

Rating: M (just because I'm not sure how intense it'll get ;)

AN: THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE REVIEWS THAT MEANS SO MUCH.

I don't own tvd. If I did then I'd end it with Sam and Dean Winchester coming to town... Also I'd make Klaroline canon and have more episodes like season 7 episode 10 cuz that was amazing. Ok now here's the chapter.

Chapter Two

There was a pit in Elena's stomach for the past week. It had never happened like this before- she saw the numbers, and knew what they meant and yet... This was a gut wrenching feeling she never knew existed before now. Before this.

Earlier that day

Elena woke up with a headache that could rival the pain of hand sanitizer on a paper cut. She groaned and struggled to get out of the safe haven she calls her bed- grabbing her phone from the bedside table. She saw about 5 texts, 3 of which were from Stefan- she gave him her number after he had driven her home.

5 new messages

From: Care-Bear

hey lena thx 4 the ride XO i rlly wuz wasted! also i met this rlly cute guy... Never got his name.. :(

She laughed at her friend's message and wrote up a quick reply

To: Care-Bear

No problem! Is this cute guy you speak of Stefan? You know, the guy that saved your ass from passing out drunk? Whoever it is, glad you're moving on from Tyler- he didn't deserve you. ;)

After hitting send, she skimmed over her other messages.

From: Stefan Salvatore

Hey just letting you know that your friend made it home ok- but her mom seemed pissed.

From: Dad

Just letting you know that I'm staying with Andie until late afternoon tomorrow- or today since its past midnight. Make sure Jer is ok. Night

From: Stefan

Hey you smell like my feet. Don't take that to offense since my feet smell good. Wait that isn't my foot.

From: Stefan

Fuck. Sorry, Damon stole my phone.

She laughed at the messages from Stefan (and Damon) and suddenly remembered the older Salvatore brother that she had met the previous night. He was breathtaking- and an asshole, but he was just so intriguing. She sent a quick reply to her father before setting out on her messages to Stefan.

To: Dad

Sorry for the late reply dad, I was rlly wiped out last night. Jer is fine. And also applause for u for finally staying w Andie ;)

That's when she decided to actually check on her little brother- even though she already sent a reply that she was ok. She walked through the hallway that separated the rooms- a reddish carpet, wood floors and fancy looking staircase decorated by family photos and shelves- it was a down to earth house aesthetic, the pasty colored walls just adding to the small town/large house look. Of course this look ended the moment she opened the door to Jeremy's room. The walls were considerably darker, and posters were crookedly strewn upon them, there were wires and speakers and a random assortment of headphones and video games littering his desk. His bed was unmade, and dark clothes were in piles everywhere. The room was an allegory for teen angst; that's what Elena's mom said anyways. She saw him on his small couch, eyes closed, and headphones blasting music- most likely screamo emo stuff.

Sighing at her brother's mess and adorableness she quietly left the room as not to be noticed by her brother. He was so innocent in terms of the world's workings- he never really thought about his future, and thought that getting into drugs and hanging with shady people was normal, and it'd be over once he was out of school. She walked by her parents room and strolled down the stairs while texting Stefan back.

To: Stefan

Thank you so much for the ride! Also, tell your brother "you're welcome" for me- since I let him leave last night w/o getting u. Maybe he should think about that rather than his brother's feet.

Hitting send, she slipped her phone into her back pocket, and grabbed an apple from the fridge and gnawed at it before heading to her room to get dressed. She threw on jeans and plaid long sleeve button down. She decided not to straighten her hair- and left it in its natural wavy state. On her way down the stairs (again) she yelled to her brother- who was probably not listening anyway. "Jer! I'm going to the grille! Text me if you need anything!"

Elena ran out the door, slowing to a walk once she got to the sidewalk. The air was cool and crisp, but the sun was strong enough to warm you up if you were directly under it. She checked her phone again- and saw more messages from Stefan.

From: Stefan

I told you that it wasn't my foot. God Elena.

From: Stefan

Srry that was Damon

From: Stefan

Oh Elena im at the grille with my brother, you want to come by and give us the lay down of the town?

To: Stefan

I'm actually already headed there! Also stop giving your brother your phone!

When Elena arrived at the Grille, she expected a mess from the previous night. Instead there was a lack of any old party streamers or broken bottles. She almost did a double take as she strolled to a table when she spotted the older Salvatore brother. He was dressed in black- the only things not taking up that noir color was his ghostly white skin and his eyes, that were reflective blue crystals even in the warm colored hue of the grille. She barely noticed his Stefan, who smiled and called her over.

"Hey Elena!"

She shook herself out of the trance and smiled back, skipping and sliding into their booth. "Hey Stefan!"

Damon beckoned her over- as if to tell her something whispering "sorry for my little bro's inconsiderate comparison of you to his not-foot. I'd compare you to a beautiful sunrise."

She giggled as Stefan rolled his eyes and Damon smirked.

But then it happened. She met her chocolate doe eyes to his ice blue irises and saw his number. 365.

Damon Salvatore would die in a year.

She immediately wanted to curl up into a fetal position and cry. She kept a straight face though. She looked at Stefan and saw that she got his number right the previous night, which filled her with enough relief to continue acting as normal as she could. Stefan said something- something funny she assumed, and Damon laughed. It was a genuine laugh void of any malice or sarcasm as he playfully hit Stefan on the shoulder. Her heart felt like it had been ripped to pieces and force fed to her, creating a phlegmy lump of blood and internal organs in the back of her throat.

Damon Salvatore would die in a year.

The previous night she had thought him an asshole and yet through those five minuets of conversation and just looking into those eyes she felt like there was something more. She had developed a small crush on the guy, he obviously was interested in her for friendship or something more and she was slowly becoming great friends with his brother and it hadn't even been a day since she met them.

"Elena?"

She was snapped out of her 'kill me now' trip into her mind by the aforementioned older Salvatore.

"Yes?!"

He grinned a bit

"So I heard you're going to the same school as us. Anyone Steffy here should worry about?"

She didn't look but she could practically hear Stefan's eyes rolling.

"It'd... Be a pleasure- but why wouldn't you worry about them?" She managed to put on a nice normal act though she was screaming internally.

He raised his finger and flicked her nose playfully and drawled out a "because I'm so lovable."

Stefan's eyes were getting a workout at this point "Damon you're not as funny as you think."

I'm Damon mocked hurt at his brother's words as he grabbed his chest "Stefan! I'm not funny! I'm hilarious."

Elena's body felt numb at this point- she couldn't look at him without getting a look at that number. She never hated herself more.

"And to answer your question, watch out for the Mikaelsons. They hold a ton of power here and the Mikaelson siblings are horrible."

She smiled at the brothers who nodded in sync, until Damon's phone rang.

"Shit. Sorry lemme take this."

However his face noticeably darkened at the caller ID and clicked answer as he quickly got up and left the grille evidently angered. Stefan shrugged apologetically but seemed to be aware of what was up with his brother all the same.

"Well that's probably my cue!" She said practically jumping out of her chair. "I'll see you at school on Monday?"

On her way out she noticed the lack of a certain blue eyed Salvatore and sauntered around the corner of the building until she saw him. He was leaning against the wall in the alleyway- smoking something. She didn't know whether to approach him or not. She decided on the latter. She couldn't get any closer to the guy than she had to- she couldn't take that pain again.

She began to turn around when she realized that he had spotted her, and his eyes were bloodshot and full of shame. He mumbled something but she didn't catch it and she was running.

Damon Salvatore would die in a year.

A/N

Well that happened. So Elena will be pushing Damon away for awhile just to let yall know. And Damon has his own baggage that will become evident over time. And Stefan will roll his eyes a lot. So yeah review or PM and tell me what you think! Should I continue this? And would you prefer longer chapters and I update less often or shorter chapters that I update more frequently? Idk. Also I know that it seems like Damon will die but I am NOT SURE IF ITLL HAPPEN. I repeat I HAVE NO IDEA HOW ILL END THIS so he may not die! Idk it depends on what I feel like when i wrap the story up.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter three-January First

AN: So I got tired of copying and pasting the summary onto these chapters because it isn't really needed. And once again I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews! Honestly I'm dying of happiness seeing that people read my stuff. So thanks.

I also realize that I didn't fully explain how Elena got Damon's number wrong- it was explained in chapter one that she sometimes added or missed zeros when drunk.

Also I know a lot of you want Damon not to die and I totally get it- I'm just trying to figure out how to make it happen so we'll see how it goes.

Ok I'm done rambling *insert disclaimer here*

Chapter three:

Elena just sat there. She just sat there on the couch. She looked blankly at the tv, which was turned off. Nothing seemed to make sense. The previous night, Damon was just an (extremely) attractive asshole who happened to be her new friend's brother, now he was something else. He was another person she would lose, a person she had to push away (which would be oh so very not easy). She barely knew him and yet she felt like she was going to throw up.

However no tears came. They were prickling the corners of her eyes but never fully emerged so she looked stoned. Her phone beeped a few times and she pulled herself from her thoughts to look at the messages.

From: Unknown Number

Hey sorry for just leaving you and Steffy like that. And yeah I saw you watching me. Like a stalker. Don't worry it's fine.

Stefan must've given Damon her number. Just great. Several more messages popped up from the same number. There went her plans of avoiding him, he was obviously one of those people who sent a million messages to get one point across.

From: Unknown Number

Shit I forgot to say that this is Damon. The cooler Salvatore. You know the one.

She rolled her eyes at Damon's need to state how cool he was- which instantly made him that much less cool. Elena created a new contact for him, since if she'd have to deal with him she better do it as casual as possible.

From: The Less Cool Salvatore

Anyways I got my schedule for school. For all the classes I'll skip. ;P

She rolled her eyes and looked at the attached picture, which was his schedule with lewd and violent doodles taking up any and all blank areas. Great. She had History, English and Chemistry with the guy. Honestly her plan for avoiding him was all but there, and after a few hours of texting him, her reason for avoiding him started shifting its way to the back of her mind.

To: The Less Cool Salvatore

Anyways Demon gotta blast

She cursed at autocorrect, it had replaced the 'a' in 'Damon' with an 'e' so it read as 'demon'. She sent a quick "*Damon. Sorry, autocorrect's a bitch" and waited for a reply but none came. Maybe his phone died. Or he turned it off when she said she had to leave. She hoped she hadn't triggered him in some way.

First day back to school:

When she arrived at school, she had expected the Salvatore brothers to get looks from girls, but to the degree that it had, she hadn't seen coming. The female population of Mystic Falls high was literally throwing itself at Stefan and Damon (mostly Damon. Which unlocked some kind of weird feeling inside of Elena and she didn't like it). However the two ignore the jealous stares from guys and the smitten states from girls and approached her and Caroline at their lockers.

Caroline had been in the middle of one of her long rambles. "So anyways I was totally the best at the auditions and I'm not trying to brag or anything ok maybe I am but I mean is it bragging if it's the truth? Whatever. So then I find out that even though I was the best, Rebekah bitching Mikaelson got to be head cheerleader! Can you believe it! It's probably because her family holds so much money and power. Speaking of the Mikaelsons, Nik was being a dick. Again. Ugh the nerve of that family! So basically I was like-"

And then her mouth dropped at the sight of the two mysterious Salvatores approaching her best friend in an extremely friendly manner. Almost too friendly. "Sweet Jesus on a tricycle who are these..." Caroline motioned her hand up and down toward the brothers. "These people..?" She finished her sentence with an awkward laugh-sigh.

Elena rolled her eyes at her friend's reaction to them and pointed at Stefan "That's Stefan Salvatore. You know, the one who rescued your drunk ass at the grille on New Years?" Caroline's mouth formed into an 'o' shape and Elena moved her hand to point at Damon, who really stopped being interested at this point and was just texting someone or doing something on his phone. "And that is Stefan's brother Damon. He's an ass."

That seemed to get his attention. He raised his head and met his crystal eyes to her chocolate ones smirking a bit, yet feigning fake hurt with his hand against his chest. She laughed until his number flashed through her head and she wanted to rip her hair out in frustration. She turned away coldly and pretended to ignore the hurt look of confusion radiating from the older Salvatore. "Anyways. I better get to class!" She said abruptly and practically ran away from Damon. However he had other plans.

"Yo Lena! We have first period together right? You mind showing me where that is...?"

He practically shouted it across the hall. He was right but she couldn't do this, he was already too close as is.

So Elena Gilbert pushed him away.

"I thought you skipped classes" she said, turning to him and glaring icicles.

"Um yeah, but I can't skip a class that I can't get to anyway! Also it's uncool to skip all the time- I need to piss off the teachers sometimes!" He said with a cat like grin, licking his lips in the process. She almost laughed. Until she saw his number flash in her head again.

She stomped towards him and looked into his eyes, she did it coldly and cruelly, no warmth under her gaze. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing to get me in your pants but it's not going to work. You think that you're being funny and flirtatious and lovable but you're just a big ass who doesn't take anything seriously. So back the fuck off Salvatore."

And with that she left. And she didn't see him for the rest of the day. Not at lunch, or any of the classes she shared with him or even after school talking with Stefan. Once again Elena Gilbert found herself on the brink of tears on the couch staring at a blank screen. Her phone decided to beep and she checked it almost too fast.

From: The Less Cool Salvatore

Well now I don't know where history, English or chemistry is so i guess we're even. You know, since I'm apparently an ass whose only nice to people so they sleep with me. And you're a bitch who assumes they know everything. That'd be a nice reality tv show. Whatever just don't text me again.

Elena now felt the true impact of her words on him. She was exactly that, just a bitch who assumed she knew everything.

She pushed herself off the couch and strolled into the kitchen lazily, where she reached into the freezer and grabbed her aunt Jenna's tub of Ben n Jerry's, scooping into it, devouring her problems away. It was a method her mother taught her. When she was dumped by Elijah and couldn't stop crying, her mom took out as much junk food as she could, spread it across the counter, and binge ate with her. They just cried about feelings and told corny jokes and it was so wonderful. She was so naive, ignoring that ticking timer that she correlated with her mom. Just thinking about her mom brought tears to her eyes and brought thoughts of another time bomb just waiting to go off. Engrossed in thought, Elena didn't even hear the front door open.

"ELENA. What did I tell you about eating my food!"

Her aunt had walked in, screaming bloody murder at her niece, but stopped her fake anger when she saw Elena's tear streaked face. "Oh honey what's wrong?" She slowed her walking as she went over and pulled the brunette into a warm and long embrace.

Elena just shook her head through the tears and didn't say anything. Her aunt raised an eyebrow "is it a boy?" That's when Elena cracked a giggle but then her face fell "y-yes actually"

Her aunt crossed her arms and motioned for her niece to continue. Elena merely shrugged and took another bite of ice cream, it melted on her tongue before she swallowed and Jenna decided to take the tub of glory away and into the freezer once more. Her aunt ignored Elena's whining face and huffy breath and spoke "well Elena, whatever it is that's keeping you from this guy-" she was cut off by a "how do you know whether something is keeping me from him" and answered "Please honey, it's always that. But what ever it is; he has a girlfriend, he's a player or an asshole, or maybe he's only around for awhile." She had no idea. "The best thing to do is just go for it- and there's only so much that can happen! If you're always living in the future, you'll never have a present. And the present is all that matters- since that's what the future will become, you can worry about it then." Her aunt sighed before looking back at her "honestly Elena whether you are crushing on this person or just want to be friends- don't push them away until you need to. And always give yourself the opportunity to push them away, since you can only do that if you're close enough to really know if it's worth it." And with that her aunt cracked a smile and walked away, probably to her room where she'd browse online dating sites, but never actually ask people out "Window shopping", she called it.

Elena thought carefully about her aunt's words, thinking deeply about the advice. She wasn't even sure if this was even a romantic feeling towards Damon, but she felt intrigued by him. She wanted more than anything to let him into her life. To hang out with him and hate him for being an asshole and admire his amazing looks.

Sure, Damon Salvatore would die in a year. But it would be a damn good year.

AN: so I tried making this chapter a wee bit longer than the others. And I skipped like the whole school day but we'll see a little bit of Damon POV (not first person though) so we'll have that.

Also I know Elena is being a bitch. She's just pushing Damon away. And it's working so kudos Elena.

Also this fic will probably have a recurring theme of Jenna having inspirational speeches.

So please please please review! Or pm me. Any ideas or input just send them to me! Honestly I love when mpeople read my stuff. Anyways- bai.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter four- January First

AN: Once again I am so very happy for all these reviews I've gotten! I'm going to write this chapter following Damon around. And depending on how it goes i might do another one after it- but the majority of the story is going to be in Elena's Pov so don't get used to it. This takes place before chapter one btw.

So let's get started I guess!

Chapter Four:

Damon pried his eyes open, not bothering to wipe the sleep out of them since it didn't really matter. At this point nothing did. He lay there, staring at the ceiling in fear, disappointment and loneliness. The clock on the other side of the house ticked almost silently, but if he listened carefully and closely enough, the sound would radiate through his ears and body both soothing and irritating him. By the time he finally pushed himself off his bed and into the bathroom, his demeanor had shifted from his broken stuck-in-an-existential-crisis self to his don't-give-a-shit attitude, if he wasn't the one looking at himself it would've been more believable.

Damon Salvatore was sick of life. This feeling wasn't to be mistaken for wishing he was dead or hating everything— Damon was just bored.

Boredom would seek its way into the corners of his mind right when he thought that he was content. And when that wasn't enough... Tragedy would follow.

He threw on a random assortment of clothes (since they were all roughly the same color, black, it really didn't take much thought) and headed out of his room and into the hallway. It still kind of surprised him to see the cardboard boxes stacked along the walls and the missing pictures that normally adorned them. He could still see the dusty outline of where many of them used to be placed.

He walked silently through the hall and into the kitchen, turning on the light and sighing in both disappointment and relief when he saw that he was alone. He would've checked upstairs but he knew that the man he expected wasn't there.

Damon was startled by the loud sound of his brother's footsteps coming from the stairs- he chuckled at the fact that Stefan couldn't be stealthy even if he tried. And oh how he tried. But he was met with a cross armed Damon leaning against the kitchen threshold, eyebrows raised in sarcasm. They shared a glance that posed the biggest issue.

"So" Stefan began "is he-"

"No." Damon cut him off, continuing with his sentence, allowing his voice to drip with sarcasm and malice "Daddy dearest decided against seeing his dearest sons off to some uncle they never even knew existed until... 37.467 hours ago."

Stefan rolled his eyes but was evidently hurt by this, he understood that their father didn't really care for them but they were leaving for good! Shouldn't that entail that he see them off? Of course not.

"From now on, it'll be just you and I Steffy!" He announced raising his hands in triumph. Stefan noticed his brother's avoidance of the real problem and reason for their departure but decided against mentioning it.

After a breakfast of silence (other than the occasional clinking of spoons against cheap, white, ceramic bowls) there was a knock at the door, expecting it to be the moving vans, Damon got up and sauntered to the front door. By the time he opened the door and saw his drunk father, he remembered that the moving vans had already arrived hours earlier. So doing the natural thing, rather than greeting his dad with a warm smile and open arms, he slammed the door in his face with an angry smirk on his face. "Fuck that felt good!" He cheered, cracking his back and suddenly feeling rejuvenated. Then he heard the door slam open behind him and that previous feeling was quickly replaced by anger and dread.

Without a word he stepped past the threshold and Damon flinched as his heavy foot landed on the creaky wood paneled floor. He didn't know what he expected. A right hook to his jaw, or words of disappointment- but his father ignored the two and stomped upstairs quickly and uncaring.

"Well that happened." He mumbled to himself, and shrugged, puzzled and confused on his father's actions while walking back into the kitchen to his brother.

Stefan knew something was up but decided not to mention that either. He knew that reading people was Damon's thing but by the way he was fumbling around and noticing everything, anyone could tell that Damon Salvatore was scared, and he was.

"Damon it's ok to be nervous."

His head snapped up as he stared at Stefan in disbelief. "I'm not nervous Stefan! The dog is taken care of, we're leaving this shithole, and I get to keep all my shit! What's there to be nervous about?" He added a smirk for good measure. Stefan shrugged in reply "I don't know but Damon you've looked at the clock like a hundred times during the past minute. You never look up the time unless your nervous."

Damon rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "Anyways, we should get going! The movers have our stuff covered, so we'll go in my car... If you need Steffy, I'll get the booster seat out from the closet?" He rushed out of the room with intensity, but made it look like he was carefree.

The road trip was uneventful in the sense that the first hour was spent in silence, the second was spent listening to Damon's exceptional collection of cassette tapes that he somehow could keep in his Camaro, and the last three or four hours consisted of the two playing road trip games and joking. However, the last thirty or so minutes were tense.

"Do you think Uncle Zach will be like him?" Stefan asked, looking out the window with a monotone expression and voice.

"Like who?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

Damon rolled his eyes and looked intently at the road. They stiffened even more when they passed the "Welcome to Mystic Falls" sign and turned onto a smaller road surrounded by forest. Looking at the address for a sixth time, though he didn't need to, Damon pulled into the driveway of a huge mansion. The two got out of the car in synchronization, nervously walking up to the front door. Or rather one of the front doors, since there were at least five entrances to the house.

"You only live once right?" Damon sighs and presses the doorbell, jumping a bit at the much louder than expected sound that echoed both inside and outside the house. The door was opened by an average looking guy in his forties, he had a similar posture to Damon but an aura of safety like Stefan. Though he looked a lot like their father, his wide welcoming smile was something unfamiliar to the two.

"Stefan and Damon right?" He asked and they nodded and his grin grew wider. "Well you can come in." He beckoned them in with exaggerated gestures. They awkwardly stumbled into the house and marveled at the warm and historical feel of everything. Zach smiled at their marvels but interrupted their trance

"I'm fully aware of your... Situation. And even more so your reasons for moving in with me, I am as new to this scenario as you guys and I'm not going to control anything you do, I could care less about your grades or who you hang out with, but there are ground rules that I'll go over tomorrow. This is a boarding house so there's at least five available bedrooms you can use, just pick one and when the moving vans come they can load your stuff into them. I want to be here for the two of you, through your... Rough patch. So treat me like a cool uncle rather than your father. I'll leave you to it then!" He left the room and the two Salvatore brothers had no idea what just had happened.

"So I guess we'll pick out rooms?" Stefan suggested, gesturing to the staircase and breaking the silence. Damon nodded and proceeded to follow his brother upstairs.

Damon had picked the largest of the available rooms while Stefan chose the smallest; Damon liked space and organization, while Stefan liked familiarity and personal value. The past few days had consisted of the two decorating/setting up their rooms, and getting to know Zach, and his fiancée Gail. They rarely went into town, so Zach had proposed that they go to the New Years party at the grille to get out and meet some fellow high schoolers. Damon obliged immediately, since he needed excitement- he was getting really bored, and Stefan reluctantly decided to be his brother's designated driver. It all sort of worked out.

The second they arrived at the grille, Damon disappeared. Either to get a drink, find some random naïve teenage girl to sleep with him, or to be alone, Stefan didn't know, he just knew that his brother would find him when he was needed and until then he could do as he pleased.

Damon just needed air. Every time he was in a car, even his beloved baby blue Camaro, or any other cramped space, he just wanted to die. It reminded him of things that he'd rather forget, but couldn't. He never would. Images of blood and screams and pain filled his head, he felt that he couldn't breathe and just needed a moment. As much as he liked to say they helped, drugs were only a temporary solution. That however, was what he needed at the moment. A temporary time out. The grille itself was crowded and sweaty, but the buzz in the air felt good to him. Familiar. For the majority of the party, he had just leaned against the alley walls and pondered life while smoking a joint.

By this time he strode into the bar and sat next to a girl. He didn't look at her, he looked at the bartender- a highschool kid with dusty hair and baby blue eyes.

"Burbon. Neat."

He felt the eyes of the girl next to him piercing through him and he turned in her general direction- and shit he didn't expect her to be so gorgeous. Despite her messyish hair and buzzed expression, her doe eyes and petite body just blew him away. He smirked at her despite not feeling it and just did the douchey thing by mentioning her obvious attraction to him.

"You like what you see? There's more where this came from..."

Her eyes widened in annoyance and she turned red. He chuckled at how obviously embarrassed she was. "What! N-NO! I was just lost in thought..." She was cute. He decided to be maybe a little nicer to her but by then the words "About me I presume." Had already flown out of his mouth. Nice one Salvatore. She stopped looking at him with attraction and it turned to anger and disgust.

"Don't assume you know something if you don't..."

Oh he got it, he knew more than she did how annoying it was to be judged. He bet that she was judging him right now- so he's just live up to those expectations. "But I am right."

She fumed, flipping Damon off.

"Fuck you."

This was getting very entertaining. It definitely improved his self esteem for the night, though he knew he'd regret angering this girl later.

He laughed and held out his hand "Sorry. I should introduce myself before accusing you of hiding your obvious attraction to me."

Her face lightens up but then he fucking ruined it. His charm switch was definitely off that day.

"But then again... You should introduce yourself to someone before cursing them for being right..."

She fumed and slapped his hand away, introducing herself- though impolitely.

"Ok. My name is Elena Gilbert- I'm 17, so yes I'm a minor drinking shut up, and have an uncanny ability to meet the biggest douchebags which at this moment, is you."

He decided to flip that switch and smirked "Well my name is Damon Salvatore, I am also 17 so big surprise there seeing as my tolerance is insanely high. And I have an affinity for meeting the most fiery and beautiful of women, which at this moment, is you." He knew that she blushed at his response, even in the light, but by the time that a dawning expression of realization spread on her face, he grimaced.

"Wait did you say Salvatore? As in Stef-" he cut her off. Of course she met Stefan first, Stefan got everything Damon wanted. Literally every chick Damon showed romantic interest in, his father's affection, not finding his mother's dead body on his birthday. The usual.

"So you've met Saint Stefan already? Well now I know that I can't have you..."

She looked amused at his joke though it wasn't a joke. He grimaced and took another swig, shoulders sagging a bit.

"No! I'm not interested in him like that anyway!"

He realized that she was a little too defensive- like she either wanted to be with Damon, or... Just in denial about liking Stefan. Whichever one it was he didn't feel like dealing with it then. Or at all really.

"No he was going to give me and my friend Caroline a ride home since he was sober and went off looking for you..."

Oh, that was just great. He had to go and face the world now- fun shit. He knew that the moment he saw his brother he'd be attacked with lectures and things that bored and annoyed him.

"Well then E-le-na" he said in a drawl, "I guess the introductions were necessary. See you around." He got up from his stool and stumbled away shouting "just tell Stefan... That you saw me and I said that it happened again and I'm done with his shit. Also that I'll walk home. I hate cars sometimes."

Well shit, did he just say that? Stefan was going to be so pissy later honestly. But he needed to walk home- he needed to just breathe air so he did.

He went the rest of the night with Elena Gilbert on his mind.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

AN:ok so we'll have one more Damon centric chapter after this and then go back to Elena. I'm just rewriting the past few chapters in Damon's point of view since I sort of glossed over a few plot points. This means that I have time to think about Elena's storyline. Wooooooo.

Any suggestions or thoughts? Review or PM me!

Love you all.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter five- January first

AN: ok I first need to apologize for accidentally reposting chapter 3 instead of 4 for like 30 minutes last time I updated. I fixed it. Bam. So this chapter will once again be in Damon's POV so yaya! Reviews are love!

I don't own the vampire diaries.

Chapter 5:

Waking up with a hangover was not Damon's ideal morning, though it was literally every morning. His thoughts were swirling and he couldn't figure out what to focus on so instead he just jumped out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen, where Zach and Stefan were talking. They didn't notice Damon and he did nothing to make himself known, listening in on their conversation.

"So Stefan, how was the party? I heard that it got pretty crazy once you guys left." Zach questioned. Not in a parental voice that acted as a warning to punishment, but in a genuinely curious voice. Stefan shrugged "It was pretty great, I made friends with these two girls Caroline and Elena... I gave them a ride too. It was a pretty casual party." Zach nodded and proceeded to get coffee as Stefan continued "not sure if it got crazy, Damon stayed later so he might know..." Ha. No he didn't. Damon spent the first three quarters of the event outside the grille in an alley, and the last quarter was spent hitting on one Elena Gilbert. Oh Elena Gilbert. He spotted Stefan's phone on the counter and swiftly scrolled through his contacts, stopping on 'Elena', and wrote a quick random message about feet or something.

It was then that Stefan decided to look in Damon's direction and eyes widened in both surprise and annoyance. Zach mumbled a "speak of the devil and the devil shall come" before leaving the brothers to argue.

"Damon what the fuck are you doing on my phone?" Stefan says in as calm a tone that he can manage. Damon chuckles awkwardly "Using the calculator...?" Stefan scoffed "Really Damon, even if you were doing math you wouldn't need a calculator. Let alone the one on my phone." Stefan then looked at his phone and saw the message, face suddenly becoming ashen with horror. "My god Damon." He got up and went somewhere, Damon wasn't sure where, but he didn't care- he managed to distract Stefan from confronting him about his reasons for walking home and not riding with Stefan and his new harem.

He grabbed his own phone and saw a multitude of messages from his friends in New York. He wanted to go back, not to his dad but just to the city. Since he had moved from Italy when he was six, New York had been his haven. It had an atmosphere of independence and modern yet historical architecture that just worked together, while the weather wasn't always the best- when it was nice, it was perfect. Here in Mystic Falls, everything was trapped in time, even the people were unlikely to leave the confines of the small town.

From: British Poser

Hey mate what's up

Naturally a text from Enzo had no substantial value, just a "hey what's up" and when he got an answer, he didn't return the favor. Though he was Damon's best friend, there was no hiding the fact that he could be a total airhead sometimes, though at others he was serious enough. Damon quickly typed a reply.

To: British Poser

Not my ego at the moment.

He got a reply almost immediately.

From: British Poser

That's a first

To: British Poser

Ha

He went back to his inbox full of messages that he didn't feel like checking. With Enzo their texting didn't really have any meaning, just mindless 'hi's and replies consisting of less than ten words. But his other friends pestered him constantly on his mental wellbeing and how everything was- which he didn't feel like thinking about.

From: British Bitch

Damon, Stefan told me u had another episode- are u ok

Naturally Rose would be so annoying at this point, he rolled his eyes and replied 'I'm good' to hopefully shut her up.

From: Bitch

I think Stefan is ignoring me.

From: Bitch

Heyyyy

From: Bitch

Daaaammmooon

From: Bitch

Ugh

He didn't need to read the rest of the messages, just pressing delete on the conversation. It would be better for his mental state that way. He saw a message from Stefan from last night.

From: Steffy the Fun Slayer

Damon u can't just leave like that!

Damon rolled his eyes, the message confirmed that Stefan's contact name was accurate. Damon had no interest in reading his remaining messages from 'British Bitch's Groupie' and 'Stefy's friend (with benefits)', so he just deleted them. That was a waste of time.

He sighed and decided against breakfast and just lay down on the couch, picking up a random book. It was some thriller that Zach had probably bought at an airport, not really his cup of tea but he needed to just relax and get everything off his mind right then. Right about when he was halfway through the book, was when Stefan decided to decide to be social. "Damon." He started, furrowing his brow at the scene, since his older brother reading some shitty book in an extremely strange position that he figured most contortionists had trouble achieving, still not dressed, and drinking coffee out of a pink hello kitty mug could still look like a seventeen year old badass rebel who could probably kill you with a glare. "I am going to the grille, to get to know people and stuff, and you're coming with." Damon groaned the anticipated groan and slithered off the couch angrily before quickly running upstairs to spam Elena more from Stefan's phone.

Stefan smirked as Damon cursed loudly from Stefan's room "Stefan did you seriously put a password on here?!" However his face fell when Damon continued his statement with a "God Stefan you're so transparent! Did you seriously use your birthday as your phone password?"

"No..?"

Damon laughed mischievously as he spammed Elena, and some other people that he didn't know on Stefan's contact list. He turned to go downstairs but was met with a very angered Stefan, who reciprocated Damon's innocent face but it was much more broody and red. Damon tossed the phone into Stefan's hands "ok now we can go to the grille!". He grabbed his leather jacket and practically skipped to his car in mock glee, though he was tired and hungover as hell.

Stefan was texting vigorously the entirety of the drive there, both trying to fix what Damon had done and inviting Elena to hang out at the grille with them. So by the moment Stefan grinned saying "oh yeah, Elena will be joining us." And Damon immediately wanted to murder his brother. It was one thing to leave the house, but another to actually be social and talk to people. They'd be going to school in a few days it isn't like they could avoid attention there.

They had picked a booth in the near back, when the slutty waitress came up to them practically pushing Damon's head into her chest, Damon ordered a water for himself and a pink lemonade for Stefan, even though he would be the one drinking the lemonade since it was something that cleared his head. Stefan rolled his eyes about 200 degrees before they landed on a certain Elena Gilbert, he proceeded to dramatically wave her over. She smiled widely and Damon melted. She was the personification of perfection.

He said some stupid flirty joke and she giggled and looked deep into his eyes and it was strange because he swore that he saw hers widen as her face fell and it looked like she had just witnessed a puppy slaughter. Did he do something wrong? Did he offend her in some way?

The trio chatted about stuff like the up and coming school days and the lowdown of the town rules but Damon couldn't help feeling like the giggles and smiles coming from Elena were forced. However their weird and quaint conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Damon's phone, which he would normally ignore except this particular ringtone (the normal one) could only belong to one person. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked at the screen and inwardly died seeing the word 'Dad' there.

"Shit, I gotta take this." He got up as fast as possible, ignoring Stefan's worried gaze and furrowed brow. He gulped and clicked answer.

"Speak."

"Where the hell are you Demon"

He rolled his eyes at his father's attempt at a play on words.

"Wow. Creative."

"Don't use that tone of voice on me you insufferable little-"

And so he hung up. It was similar to the satisfaction he got from slamming the door on his dad's face, or slamming his fist into his dad's face or just not seeing his dad's face in general. The fact that their father didn't notice or know that they'd be gone said a lot.

And so when he saw Elena Gilbert staring at him, smoking in an alleyway, bloodshot eyes full of shame. He just inwardly wanted to kill himself. She didn't know anything about him and yet she stared at him in pity.

Damon Salvatore hated pity.

AN

Ok so I would make this chapter longer if I wasn't so lazy but I am. We won't get a Damon pov for awhile so I hope you like this! Please review, I love when people give me tips and enjoy my writing!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6- January first

AN: I write these author's notes before the chapter but as I am writing this late I assume I will be updating late. Apologies in advance.

Chapter 6:

Elena didn't know what to do. Multiple times she had texted him, but no reply came out of it so she decided to seek him out physically. However she couldn't find him at school, and when she did his mouth was either on that of a bottle or the lips of some school slut. After a few days she felt more than regretful for her previous outburst. She sat across from Stefan who was texting one of his friends from New York- Lexi or something. She suddenly blurted out "Stefan can I come over to your house this weekend possibly...?"

He raised an eyebrow, slurping his apple juice through a straw cynically "this doesn't have anything to do with my older brother does it?"

She froze in mid bite of her food- one of those school lunch provided pasta conjunctions that had the students at odds over what exactly went into them. Blushing, she replied sheepishly "M-maybe?"

Stefan rolled his eyes but then looked into hers with sincerity "I'll see what I can do Elena, but Damon doesn't normally give second chances." She sighed in both satisfaction and disappointment. It would work. She got up, tossing her lunch tray halfheartedly into the trashcan and waltzing through the hallways to English with the lovely .

When she stepped into the hand sanitizer smelling room however, she immediately noticed an unusual presence of cold eyes glaring holes into her. Fuck. She saw him there all broody yet oozing self confidence as Mr. Tanner ranted at him for tardiness and lack of being in class. She practically threw up when she saw that he was sitting in the once empty desk next to hers- she wanted to see him and earn at least a pleasant relationship with him by not be subject to his torment. She hadn't gone through it before, but Stefan had told her one to many stories of Damon knowing exactly how to get under peoples' skin. However rather than making a vulgar comment or smirking playfully he just turned away, paying Elena Gilbert no attention

She stared at him as he seemingly payed close attention to 's lecture on the ending of 'Lord of the Flies'. After about ten minutes she realized that him not trying to bother her bothered her more than anything else and turned dramatically to .

"Ok let's see if you have actually been paying attention... Ms. Gilbert!" Mr. Tanner says, knowing that she was paying more attention to the leather jacket clad bad boy next to her than the lesson, luckily Elena had already read the book about a million times and had full on conflict/character analysis in her notes. "Yes ?"

He looked through his clipboard questionnaire and chose one at random "What does the ending of the novel show?" She smiled, knowing the answer all too well "that once given an authority, the savages are once again inferior children." nods, since she practically quoted one of his lectures word for word. However the silent treatment that she was prescribed ended as she heard a slight chuckle from Damon and a mumbled "bullshit". She glared at him, forgetting any number above his head or resolve to make amends for about 30 seconds, only interrupted by Tanner's fake cough "Excuse me would you like to repeat that?"

Damon rolled his eyes then glanced at Elena for a second as if to say "This is how you fucking do it" and cleared his throat, mocking 's version- the class giggled.

"I said that Elena's answer is bullshit." She gawked at his blunt, rude statement as he continued.

"The whole novel takes place in the kids' limited third person point of view, everything is described and exaggerated to that of what a child would describe, though eloquently worded. The only time we see another point of view is in those last paragraphs, in which we see it from an adult perspective. Throughout the book, Jack is described as this evil kid with savage clothes and hair and war paint, but in the end he's described as this skinny red head with weird clothes. He's described as a small child- since he is. It's supposed to say that perspective changes everything, which also alludes to what was going on in the war at the time." He stood up and took a bow at a dumbstruck class and sat back down, doodling random shit on his notebook.

Elena was in awe, Stefan wasn't lying when he said Damon was smart. She just stared at him for awhile while Tanner stuttered out the homework assignments and test. Before she left class, she noticed that Damon had left his phone on his desk. So she picked it up, turning it on and noticed the new messages on his screen.

From: Bon Bon

Damon I got us tickets for a live ACDC show!

Who was 'Bon Bon'? Was she a girlfriend? Elena silently face palmed at her idiotic jealousy.

From: British Poseur

im bord

Jesus his grammar was horrible.

From: Steffy the fun slayer

Damon ik u went to class today. Did u do the thing where u humiliate the teach by analyzing the lesson

Was this some sort of trick he did? Was he not actually a genius? She shrugged.

From: Steffy the fun slayer

Elena is in for a surprise.

Elena internally flipped him off.

She saw other messages from people she didn't know (even if she did, she wouldn't be able to tell since they all had stupid names) and cleared them, finally seeing his screensaver- which was some logo for a band. She walked out of class, Damon's phone in hand, and searched for the older Salvatore, since she had a free period then. Eventually she found his locker and just slipped it through the cracks, wrote a quick note on some scrap paper and slipped it in too.

The week had gone by slowly. Very very slowly. But it was Friday and the week was over, though Elena hadn't made any progress with Damon. However he had begun to attend classes and beat her as best student- intelligence wise, though he still couldn't be bothered to do homework or even look at the tests. But she had a chance to redeem herself- maybe. Stefan had managed to arrange a get together at a time when Damon was in the house, so Elena could confront him, though he said that if it didn't work by now it probably wouldn't at all.

She opened her front door to see Jenna conversing with her father. "It's good to see that you're getting serious with Andie! I know it's hard to date after Miranda, but the kids love her and I certainly do... Oh hey Elena!" Elena skipped over to her dad and eagerly awaited am explanation for Jenna's lecture eyes sparkling in interest. He chuckled shyly- moving his irises in the opposite direction. Talking about his girlfriend near his kids was always uncomfortable for him even though they were fully supportive, so he changed the subject instead.

"So Elena how was your day?"

She gulped, trying to bullshit an answer- she did it pretty well in English apparently.

"Pretty normal" except for the fact that Damon showed up to class and was the smartest high schooler ever. And an asshole. "I'm heading to Stefan's tomorrow with Care and Matt..." At the mention of Stefan, Jenna's ears perked up and her dad raised his eyebrows. They definitely thought something was going on there. They couldn't be more wrong but she let them have fantasies. She shrugged, moving up to her room and plopping herself on her bed thinking about the past interesting yet uneventful week.

"Damon" she said to herself quietly, loving the way his name rolled off of her younger.

"One year." Much less of a joyful experience. She really did hope he would give her a second chance or he would die in a year and she wouldn't have anything to show for it. "Ugh" she took out her phone and heading to Facebook and tapping out the name 'Damon Salvatore' into the search tab and hoping something would show up. There was an account with a profile picture that matched the smart-ass Salvatore brother but the account was private. She went on his friends list and clicked the first one on there, Bonnie Bennett- which could be the 'Bon Bon' on his contacts list. She was in a relationship with this guy named Kai (fortunately throwing the girlfriend idea out the window). Elena scrolled through some selfies and family photos until she stopped on a particular video.

The video was of a band onstage playing a rendition of 'Carry on my Wayward Son', she noticed that Bonnie was singing and Damon was playing the bass. There were others on various instruments but she kept her eyes on Damon throughout the entire song. She had to admit he was good, like extremely good, but she was more focused on something else- he looked happy. He was practically glowing onstage and she hadn't seen this side of him, and since it was a video there was no number distracting her from really seeing it.

She knew that that was what he was salty about. Sure he was pissed at her but something in Elena's mind knew that Damon Salvatore just wanted out of Mystic Falls. There was hope.

AN: really shitty chapter I know. I'd make it longer but I wanted to update so here u go guys! Review please and tell me what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

January First: chapter 7

AN: hey so ill talk about my lack of updates at the end of the chapter.

This is a lame, short and late update but I still updated. And on January first too. Haha irony.

(this note was written awhile ago)

ok I'm just letting you guys know a few things-

1\. There will be no romantic Bamon in this fanfiction

2\. There will be a DE scene or two here, not a romantic one just yet, but that will come eventually

3\. This chapter will shed a tad bit of light on Damon's backstory and character. Just a bit

4\. Sorry for the lack of updating- I don't have an excuse other that pure unadulterated laziness

Ok I'll stop rambling now. Enjoy.

Chapter 7

Looking at the boarding house up close was a lot different from actually seeing it from twenty meters away in a car for about ten seconds. It was huge, with a front yard that took up more space than Elena's house- which in itself was huge. It was gorgeous, with a modern mansion take on the cozy cottage on a lake- except about ten times larger. Even the front door dwarfed the I'm-of-an- average-height-thank-you-very-much Elena Gilbert.

She gulped, ramming her fist against the hardwood door causing her to immediately pull her hand away and shake the unnecessary pain from her hand. She expected Stefan to open the door but instead she found herself looking into the azure eyes of a certain Damon Salvatore. The aforementioned eyes widened a bit, then narrowed before he opened the door a bit more. "You're early, Stef said people would come in 26 minutes. He went to pick up pizza, you can just come in I guess."

He turned away and led her through the house, gesturing for her to wait by the fireplace, which was in a room carved out of the library.

She sat in a big leather chair and awkwardly remained there for about ten minutes, listening to Damon's footsteps as he stomped to his room and then his blaring rock music that was slightly loud enough for her to hear. However she noticed that there was a book nestled in between the chair cushions- Call of the Wild.

She genuinely enjoyed the book and when she saw it was both a signed copy and first edition she practically screamed. What other books could be in the library? She decided to go on a book scavenger hunt when she came again. If she came back.

"Oh shit Damon's going to skin you alive."

She practically jumped out of her skin at Stefan's sudden appearance. And the mention of Stefan's brother. "What?"

He laughed, motioning to the book in her hands. "That belongs to Damon." She looked back at the book and then Stefan. "What?!" She repeated, flabbergasted.

"Yeah, you're in 'his chair' too, he was probably stroking the pages of that out here like a creep before you came, even though he memorized the book word for word." She looked back at the book and shrugged, stroking the cover and placing it on the coffee table. It would have been a heartfelt moment if her phone hadn't started blasting 'Ice Ice Baby', signaling that Caroline Forbes had called.

"Yes Care?"

"Holy shit you never told me that this house was so fucking huge!" She squealed, breaking Elena's eardrums via phone.

"This was my first time here too, Care" she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh"

Stefan chuckled and got up from where he was seated across from her, presumably to let the dumbstruck Caroline into the house. He mouthed a "be right back" as he left.

Elena remained awkwardly in the sitting room, looking towards the book on the coffee table. That was Damon's? She knew he was at least a bit well read, but hadn't expected such an appreciation for the classics. That book must have been a hard find, or a fortune.

Stefan and Caroline burst back in, conversing about something dumb and unrelated to Elena's current angst. Stefan must have seen that in her eyes because he gave her a nod to Damon's upstairs room and casually asked her to "ask Damon if he wants any pizza"

She thanked him for this window of opportunity but still gulped as she looked at the looming staircase.

This was it. Her one chance to rekindle that instant connection they had made. She was sure she'd fuck it up.

She knocked on the door, it was vibrating with his music. When no one answered, she assumed he was ignoring her (which he was already doing so no surprise there), but she decided to knock again just in case he just didn't hear the first knocks. Seeing as his music was so loud, there was nothing wrong with that optimism.

She knocked again, and when there was no answer- rather than walking away like she initially planned to, she decided to take her aunt's advice and just go for it.

She went for it.

Coldly, she took advantage of her cheerleading years and kicked Damon's door as hard as she could, knocking it open, glaring at the room's resident... Who was asleep. She blushed as he jolted up from his bed, eyes full of panic. They turned to glaring once he composed himself. "The fuck was that?" he shouted.

"Stefan wants to know if you want pizza." she said cooly "and next time you ignore someone, try not to leave your door unlocked."

He smirked, eyes still icy "I would have thought you grateful that I'm not polluting your airspace, seeing as I'm ' just a big ass who doesn't take anything seriously'."

She gawked at his exact quotation from days prior, but held her ground. "You're right- I don't know you, but you don't know me either."

He smirked "I think I know you just fine, E-le-na." her eyes narrowed as he continued "I'm guessing that you've gotten everything you wanted you're whole life, and so you justify yourself and your bitchy attitude with some mini tragedy that happened- like a breakup or a divorce, so you can continue being little miss fucking perfect—"

"My mother died."

His eyes widened a bit at her statement. Not bothered by her cutting him off, but intrigued by what she said.

"My mom died recently and I like you and I'm scared of losing someone else."

He nodded sympatheticly but still hadn't let his guard down "why are you okay with Stefan then?"

She shrugged "I guess you're special."

He raised an eyebrow "I guess we are in agreement Ms. Gilbert. I don't want pizza, by the way."

She sighed and turned away, smiling at his quiet "See you on Monday."

Maybe this year wouldn't suck after all.

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

hey so I decided to release this unfinished half-chapter today because it's... Y'know... January 1st.

So I think it's quite obvious that I haven't updated in like a year. I have no real explanation as to why other than laziness and boredom. I had this whole story planned and I just sort of lost interest in TVD. I don't really know why, I'm just more into RWBY and Marvel and anything else. I'm sorry. But this story has a lot of people wanting updates so rather than discontinuing it, I'm putting it on hiatus until I have enough time and patience to write another chapter. If anyone is up for it, I'm putting an offer out to anyone interested in co-writing this with me. If I had someone else working with me and stuff, I'd be more up for completing this. If someone wants to adopt this fic, then they'd have to stick to a few events I had planned, but can just take it away. If anyone is interested in co writing or adopting January 1st, then review and/or dm me. I'm sorry about the wait and any more waits to come.

-bye


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